“The instrument consists of a diamond blade operating inside a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. The blade cuts precisely controlled sections which are imaged sequentially so that a three-dimensional image can be constructed,” he said.

The instrument is usually used to section biological samples. This is the first time that it has been used on materials such as paint sections.

Professor Drennan has been working with Queensland Art Gallery Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Conservator of Paintings Gillian Osmond, and the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis’s Robyn Webb and Ron Rasch, using the Gatan 3-View/Zeiss to examine paint conservation issues involving significant Australian artworks.

Professor Drennan showed 3D images and video from that work to members of the University of Amsterdam’s Paint Alterations in Time (PAinT) team while on sabbatical in The Netherlands.

“Dr Katrien Keune and Dr Annelies van Loon were so impressed with the quality of the images that they suggested, in collaboration with Van Gogh Museum Head Conservator Dr Ella Hendriks, that it would be worth attempting to build a 3D image of the paint layers in Van Gogh’s Sunflowers,” Professor Drennan said.

He said pin-head-sized samples previously extracted for other studies were now in Brisbane, and Gillian Osmond would oversee the sectioning process.

“The aim is to build a clear three-dimensional map of the various paint layers that van Gogh used in this iconic painting,” Professor Drennan said.

“We hope this analysis will add valuable information to the body of knowledge that the Dutch conservators use in their continual monitoring and preservation of these important art works.”